With a portfolio covering every type of business, from smaller start-ups to leadership firms, DL Company have been designing, planning and creating office fitouts and refurbishments for over 46 years. unLTD’s Sasha Mossman spoke to MD Dan Lowe to find out how office renovation has been transformed over the years.
Dan Lowe, Managing Director at The DL Company
“Companies often evolve within their space – adding a desk here or there but they may not plan on how the layout will work for them going forward and how they can use the space. This is where we come in to advise them, and re-plan the space to make it work better for them.
Technology and the local economic landscape has changed significantly since I joined DL, over 20 years ago. We come from a background where we used to build a lot of office partitioning, and now less people want that physical divide. They tend to want designed furniture and creatve spaces for meetings – where people can relax from their desks to collaborate, exchange ideas and use technology (for work of course!). I think employers are needing to make things feel a bit more relaxed in their workplace. Office renovation as a business is far more innovative now than it was when I first began working here, so we have products and ideas that can meet peoples’ needs now and for the future.
People are using workspace as more of a social space nowadays – you’re not chained to your desk from eight in the morning until six at night anymore. People need a break from the screen to have a chat and talk about projects in different spaces, and most importantly they need to focus their minds – physically and mentally. We’re more open to moving about, rather than just being sat in the same position all day everyday – it’s too mind-numbing.
I’ve found that lots of people are looking for the industrial ‘look’ – this has been inspired by a lot of offices in post industrial areas, like Kelham Island, with brick walls giving a warehouse-type feel. We’re seeing a lot of exposed ceilings used to create an airy, spacious open feel to the office – this is very much in demand at the moment.
We’re also finding that people are seeking a more residential feel with their furnishing. Offices need to be more interesting than a box with white walls – colour is important, flooring is important and what’s on the wall is important. We’re trying to engage people with their workspace more than ever before.
It’s a more egalitarian way of working – there aren’t rows and rows of management offices anymore. People are using their space differently.”
unLTD also caught up with Lisa Pogson, Managing Director at AirMaster and Adam Dyson, Director at Dyson Signs and Graphics to get their views on how issues like sustainability, staff morale and flexible working are impacting on office design and trends.
Lisa Pogson, Managing Director at AirMaster
“We’re a heating and cooling company – we started out as an air-con company, but we developed into working with heaters, boilers, ventilations. We work primarily in a lot of offices, and across both the retail and educational sector.
We have to work across the efficiencies, especially as a lot of buildings have to be really energy efficient these days. Sustainability is important and this is reflected in the steps we take and in the equipment we use.
Sustainability has always been in our industry, especially in aircon and filtration – a lot of people believe these aren’t as efficient as they actually are. I would say that, in the last five or six years, the industry has been ramped up on the sustainability front.
We’re running things on an agile basis – we’ve got people in offices working in new ways, such as hot-desking, so we have to take that into account. We also have to be very aware of how many people are in and out of the building at one time, as we then need to consider how efficiently and clean the ventilation is working.
The main change we’ve seen over the years, on a national level, is that buildings are being used in a different way. Office buildings are now being used in very agile way – businesses are using flexible working and the way rooms are used is completely different nowadays – meetings are a lot different. With these changes come the facilities, such as ventilation, that we provide – now more than ever, they have to be timed accordingly to flow throw the building, especially as offices are open plan.
We do need to be conscious that energy is going to be used in a very different way to how it was before, and we believe this will continue to change in the future.”
Adam Dyson, Director at Dyson Signs and Graphics
“Your building’s indoor appearance not only affects the way that clients view your brand, but also your staff morale. If your office walls are a drab, dingy yellow colour and the signage is old and plain, your staff will be hesitant to even go to work! As soon as you make your office area a nice place to be, you’ll see your staff morale and production increase.
Let’s consider that same office I just described. Just paint the walls an energising new shade of colour, hang interesting, appropriate artwork, and install new, trendy signs and voila! Your staff will be motivated to be productive in such a modern environment.
Branding is basically making your business stand out in your client’s minds. It’s important for both your clients and your staff. Your staff will feel proud and motivated to work for such an innovative, well-designed business brand.
Likewise, your clients will be proud to purchase something from you. Your branding relies on your business appearance. Make the extra effort to boost your brand appearance and the results will be worth it!”
